Civil Engineering PhD/MPhil

Postgraduate PhD degree Civil Engineering PhD/MPhil:

Our research tackles the problems faced by society today and develops the knowledge and tools to build the communities of thefuture. Many of our projects have already hada significant impact on society; the impact of others will be felt by generations to come.

Our research supports core themes of Transport, and Resilience and Sustainability. It benefits from being funded by industry, charities and research councils, which encourages innovative thinking andcreates internationally recognised research. We pride ourselves in offering a stimulating research environment and are always keen to discuss research opportunities with individualsf rom a wide variety of backgrounds.

Course fact file

Type of Course: Doctoral research

Study Options: Full time, part time

Duration: PhD: 3 years full-time; MPhil: 2 years

Start date: Research degrees can start at any time by agreement with the supervisor

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Details

We tackle the problems faced by society today: we aim to develop the knowledge and tools to build the communities of the future. Many of our projects have already had a significant impact on society; the impact of others will be felt by generations to come.

Our research supports core themes of Transport, and Resilience and Sustainability and is clustered into four research groups:

We work closely with industry, charities and research councils to encourage innovative thinking which has an impact on our lives. As a result we are proud of our heritage of internationally-recognised, multidisciplinary research in a stimulating research environment.

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Fees and funding

Scholarships and studentshipsSeveral research council studentships,bursaries and postgraduate scholarshipsare available for MPhil and PhD students, most of which provide full funding and someof which are enhanced by industrial funding, where the topic has a specific industrial relevance.

Other sources of funding are theEPSRC, the BBSRC, the Knowledge TransferPartnership (KTP), the European Union andindustrial funding for UK and EU students.

International students can often gain funding,Commonwealth scholarships or their homegovernment.

Entry requirements

The normal entrance qualification for PhD study is either at least an upper second-class Honours degree, or a first degree of a lower classification, along with an MSc/MRes, or evidence of substantial relevant industrial experience.

When clicking on the Apply Now button you will be directed to an application specifically designed for the programme you wish to apply for where you will create an account with the University application system and submit your application and supporting documents online. Further information regarding how to apply online can be found on the How to apply pages

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Research interests of staff

Our research tackles the problems faced by society today and develops the knowledge and tools to build the communities of the future. Many of our projects have already had a significant impact on society; the impact of others will be felt by generations to come.

Our research supports core themes of Transport, and Resilience and Sustainability and is clustered into four research groups:

Environmental EngineeringEnvironmental engineering at Birmingham embraces the key topics of water engineering (its purification and how we manage the natural water cycle to serve our needs), geotechnical engineering (engineering in harmony with the ground) and, more generally, urban living (managing and designing effective cities which will serve us in the future). Underpinning all of this activity, we are looking for solutions for a sustainable, resilient future – one where scarce natural resources are used effectively and where the ever-increasing urbanisation of the world means we have cities which work for their inhabitants, not the other way round!

Fluid MechanicsFluid Mechanics research builds on a fundamental understanding of the motion of fluids in order to address a variety of real world problems. In this context, “fluids” range from water and air, through to slurries, waves and weather, and this allows us to study diverse topics such as wind-induced forces on buildings, vehicle aerodynamics, non-Newtonian fluids in water treatment works, and the behaviour of waves on a beach. We have even been known to predict the motion of flight of cricket balls! Our research is grouped into two themes - wind engineering and hydraulic engineering - and it ranges from blue skies, theoretical thinking right through to highly applied projects, such as modelling the flow of air around the university’s famous clock tower.

Structural EngineeringStructural engineering is vital to an efficient and effective development built environment. As urban development and global urbanisation take place, the Structural Engineering group has focussed its efforts on structural integrity and serviceability, sustainable design, disaster resilience, structural robustness and innovative structural materials. Working collaboratively with colleagues from academia and industry, we have looked at novel structural materials, energy-producing structures, renewable energy structures and zero-CO2

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Employability

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If you make the most of the wide range of services you will be able to develop your career from the moment you arrive.